Growing up, everyone in the world around you projects their perceptions of this life they believe YOU are supposed to lead, the life that they think YOU have to lead simply because of your past, what you've done, the family you've come from, and all the things in between. People watch you grow older and create this world for you that they struggle to allow you to stray from. They create these expectations for you that tend to inflict stress and pressure on your every waking moment. This life that others have created for you, and this image of the person they think you're supposed to be begins to consume you, but why? Why is it anyone else can have a say about how you live your life? Why do the people around you believe that it is their right to create a life for anyone other than themselves?

Starting today, I ask you to begin creating a life that you love, for no one in this world but yourself. Take the time today to kick the life thrust upon you by others out the window and say goodbye to "must be's" and the "have to's" and welcome the "can be's" and the "want to's". Spend each day searching for all the things in the world that make you happy. The kind of happy that sweeps you off your feet and makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Find the beauty in each and every day no matter how dark and stormy life may become. Treat your soul to all the little things it deserves and be happy doing it.

Find the beauty in the silent moments of a day, and allow your mind to be free. Take five minutes each and every day to remind yourself that you are worth all the dreams come true and successes your life has to offer. Let no one in this world control your thoughts or your feelings about the version of you you believe you're supposed to be, the you you can be. Allow those who leave footprints of glitter and kindness to walk across your heart and leave their mark, and save yourself from those with mud-filled shoes. Be grateful for everyone in your life that told you no and brought you the strength to learn to say no to others also.

Today, I ask you to take your life into your own hands but forget not the people who have been your anchors. Search for the people that make you laugh so hard that your stomach hurts, and have encouraged you to follow in the wake of your dreams, no matter what they may be. Believe in yourself and your ability to be anyone in this world you wish to be. Be no one other than the person you wish to become, and make no exceptions to the life others have thrust upon you.

Be Happy. Be Free. Be You, Always.